Chapter 395: Her Fading Reach

Avaren;I can’t help the feeling that something is wrong.

I loosen the cloth around my eyes before sitting near an open window.

Cold air drifts into the room, and I hold my breath. Waiting. But still... I get nothing.

Nothing.

Not even emotions bleeding faintly through the bond.

I can’t sense the usual irritation or amusement... And there are no sharp little thoughts brushing against mine the way they usually do when she’s bored.

There’s just silence. My jaw tightens slightly as my grip tightens on the thin piece of cloth in my hand.

"She’s fine," I mutter to myself, but the words feel... empty. Like a generic consolation that doesn’t quite hold promise.

I lean back slowly and force myself to remain calm.

She told me never to interfere when she closes the bond. She told me to trust her.

And I do.

I trust her more than anyone else in this world.

That should be enough reason not to worry. If she shut me out, she has her reasons. And in a little while, she’ll reopen the bond and explain by herself why she shut it in the first place.

Minutes pass... Then more.

The silence worsens, and I begin to hear all the negative things that can only thrive in that silence.

I stand again, and my legs automatically start pacing.

Something is wrong.

No matter how many times I try to dismiss the feeling, it stays there. Burning, sharp, and unmoving.

I can not help the thick heaviness that has formed in my heart like storm clouds.

There’s something wrong. I— I don’t feel good about this silence. I—

Pain suddenly slams into my chest, and I freeze as air gets knocked out of my lungs.

It’s brief. Violent... Gone almost immediately. But I know that pain.

My pulse spikes as the vicious recognition taunts me.

"Calisí?" I call into our bond, but I get nothing.

The bond remains closed.

But now I can feel something through it. Ripples. Weak, faint ripples of distress.

My stomach lurches, and I take hold of the wall beside me.

W-what... is this feeling?

Another pulse hits me, and I groan. This one is worse.

It’s fear. And it’s not mine, but hers.

I grip the edge of the table beside me hard enough for the wood to crack beneath my fingers as the dreadful realisation settles like dew before sunrise.

"She blocked me out..." I whisper as my mind and heart race in refusal.

She blocked me out, not because she was angry. Not because she wanted privacy... But because she didn’t want me to feel this.

Crippling dread crawls slowly through my veins as I feel our bond flicker weakly, and I freeze.

Our bond does not flicker! Never! My relationship with Calisí is far too strong for that.

So why would it flicker... Now??

Panic hits me so violently that I am unable to form a single sensible thought.

I don’t hesitate after that.

Mana erupts violently through the room as I create a mana blade.

I rip through the space before me, and it tears open instantly.

The portal forms roughly this time. It is unstable and rushed, but I’m not in the headspace right now to cast perfect spells.

I can hear movement outside my chamber already. The guards are reacting to the surge of power, but I ignore all of it.

Our bond pulses again. Weakly.

Weak enough for my chest and heart to physically hurt.

"Calisí," I whisper through our bond, and there’s still no answer.

I step through the portal immediately. Racing for the place I know to find her.

Nagari’s mana crashes into me the second I reach into its magic.

It is ancient, dense... But not strong enough.

I stay in the void, as I search. And for the first time ever, I sense something that is unlike Nagari in its aura.

Blood, black magic... and destruction.

My expression hardens instantly. Something happened here. And whatever it was... It wasn’t good.

And my pearl...

Our bond trembles faintly again. Like she’s weakly reaching for me despite closing our bond.

I don’t know why, but tears fall from my eyes as I sense her reach.

Finally, I feel her. I sense her mana signature, and it’s... fading.

My heart stops. I move instantly.

Cloaked in illusion as I weave my way through the castle in search of her.

"Calisí!!" I scream this time through the bond, and this time, faintly... She answers.

"Avaren..." The weakness in her voice sets my heart into disarray, and I start racing.

The palace grounds blur around me as I follow the trail of her mana through the night.

People are everywhere.

Guards, servants. Serpents.

They all do not matter to me.

Their signatures flicker around me uselessly while I search for only one.

Her.

And then finally— I find it. I find her.

Weak. Broken, and... dying.

Everything inside me goes stone cold as my magic finds her. Because for the first time since meeting Calisí...

I cannot feel her reaching back for me. I cannot sense her relief on seeing me. She is not responding to my reach or pull.

She... she’s just lying there.

I rip the portal open as I’ve finally found her.

As I step into the open, the people around gasp and stumble a bit in shock.

I can identify the people around. Their mana signature gives them away.

But I don’t care about Koda, Zephan, Selthia or Elian now... I only care about one person.

The one Elian has in his arms.

"What are you doing here!??" Zephan growls as he tries to rush at me, but one flick of my wrist sends him tumbling away.

And before anyone else can move, I let go of my mana. Imprisoning them all in place.

I get to Elian’s front, and my magic wraps around Calisí. He refuses to let go at first.

But it’s not up for debate. He doesn’t have a choice.

My mana lifts her out of his arms and brings her to mine.

The moment her limp body settles in my arms, my heart shatters.